John Baron MP calls for end of ‘political disconnect’ on defence spending

MP says falling below 2% level would be a grave mistake

John Baron MP today led a Parliamentary debate calling on the Government to commit to spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, in line with our NATO commitment. He secured the debate with cross-party support via the Back Bench Business Committee, with over 35 MPs supporting the debate. MPs voted for the motion by 37 votes to 3.

In the debate, John said,

“There is a political disconnect in our approach to defence spending. The main parties do not question our global interests and responsibilities, yet appear unwilling to properly resource these commitments. This needs to be corrected, and urgently.”

“We need to rediscover the political will for strong defence, and if necessary banish the daemons of our recent misguided military intervention – which have perhaps distracted us from the greater danger of ‘state-on-state’ threats. The ring-fencing of the international aid budget suggest such political will can be found – it is a question of priorities.”

“A growing number of countries not necessarily friendly to the West are not only increasing their defence spending, but also becoming more assertive. We therefore need to spend more on defence not only to better protect our interests and support key alliances, but also to help avoid conflict by deterring potential aggressors.”

“The British Government must at least fulfil its NATO commitment of spending 2% of GDP on defence. Having implored fellow NATO members to reach this level at last year’s Welsh summit, falling below this level ourselves would be a great mistake – as well as a national embarrassment. It would also be a dangerous message to send to the Kremlin.”